Daughter of Fallen Militant Breaks Silence After 18 Years in Emotional Social Media Tribute
MPs Clash in Front of Visiting UNHCR Dignitary
Ranil’s UK Sojourn Sparks Storm of Questions at Home
AKD’s Beijing Visit Abruptly Shelved: What’s Behind the Delay
Sri Lanka’s UNHRC Envoy Accused of Human Rights Violation
From Hero to Headline: MP Archunan Revered in North, Ridiculed in House
Volker Türk sounds the alarm
We ‘inside politics’ column constantly reported the intended mission of the UN High commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk against Sri Lanka in September at UNHCR session.
Our first indication about the UN High commissioner’s preparation on Sri Lanka was immediately after the March session of Human Rights commission held in Geneva.
Sri Lanka’s Foreign Minister Vijitha Herath, participating in the session expressed his opposition to the resolution brought by the Human Rights Commission. Other than this it is noted government has not done any preparation how to mitigate any impending resolutions looming against Sri Lanka in September sessions.
It is obvious when a resolution against any country is anticipated at the Human Rights Commission the permanent representative of the country has a great responsibility dealing with it.
Permanent representative ought to maintain good relation with the head of the chief representatives of the other member countries in order to build a favorable situation about the country.
For example, after the war victory in Sri Lanka in 2009, many allegations were made against Sri Lanka to the Geneva Human Rights Commission. Then Mahinda Rajapaksa government appointed a special representative team to deal with those allegations, and its leadership was assigned to Mr. Mahinda Samarasinghe.
He fulfilled his duty at that time; he even took steps to defeat the resolution against Sri Lanka by bringing all the countries together in the vote.
Although the Mahinda Rajapaksa government did so, subsequent Gotabaya Rajapaksa government did not take that program forward. Gota’s government found it difficult to manage the issues raised against Sri Lanka and Gota sent someone close to him to Geneva. The result was that Sri Lanka continued to be trapped in the Geneva human rights trap during Gota’s tenure.
Also, many have a serious question about whether Ms. Himali Arunathilaka, who is currently serving as Sri Lanka’s permanent representative in Geneva, is fulfilling her role as expected at this time when a resolution is to be presented against Sri Lanka.
A fine on her imposed in a case heard before the Australian court regarding an act committed while she was serving as the High Commissioner to Australia. This was based on a complaint filed by a maid who worked in her house. Accordingly, in a context where many issues have arisen regarding the credibility of the Permanent Representative to Geneva, the government could have resolved this issue by appointing another acceptable person to the position, at least temporarily, in her place. However, many have pointed out that the government’s failure to take such action is very damaging.
Against this backdrop, we also said last week through this column that the urgent visit of Geneva High Commissioner Türk to Sri Lanka would be extremely crucial. We further reported that the report to be submitted by Türk to the Geneva Human Rights Commission at the end of this visit would be very crucial regarding Sri Lanka.
Story hidden from the media
However, after Türk arrived in Sri Lanka, the local media reported the discussions held with Prime Minister Harini Amarasuriya and Foreign Minister Vijitha Herath with great prominance. The local media also reported the photographs of the meeting and discussions between the heads of the ruling and opposition parties in Parliament.
One thing that naturally came to mind for many who saw them was that the discussions held with Türk were very successful. However, our reading on his visit would bring extremely dangerous footing for Sri Lanak.
It was a noteworthy deviation from normal practices of the foreign delegation meeting individually with opposition party representatives which the government has introduce in this instance of Türk’s visit.
This started with the recent visit of IMF delegation baring opposition members meeting and that followed with Türk ‘s as well despite Türk ‘s indication his willingness to meet the opposition representatives. Instead government arranges meeting with government as well as opposition together.
The Secretary General of Parliament, Mrs. Kushani Rohanadheera, had sent a letter to the Leader of the Opposition, Mr. Sajith Premadasa, informing him to gather all the leaders of the opposition parties and come for a discussion with Turk. The letter also stated that it was scheduled to be held on Tuesday afternoon at Parliamentary Committee No. 2.
Sajith’s different opinion
Upon receiving this letter, Sajith spoke to several responsible persons unofficially and informed them that there was a possibility of some problems arising from the simultaneous meeting of government and opposition representatives in this way.
Sajith had warned that there was a possibility of a conflict of opinion with the government party representatives when the opposition representatives were expressing their views. Sajith had also pointed out that if this happened, the Geneva High Commissioner might get the impression that the government party and the opposition did not have a single opinion on national issues related to Sri Lanka. Sajith had also warned that there was a possibility of a decision that would be beneficial to the diaspora behind the Geneva resolution.
However, it was not seen that the authorities took Sajith’s far-sighted warning . It was also seen that those authorities were behaving in an arrogant manner as usual and had their own opinion. Since Sajith was also informed about this, Sajith officially informed all the party leaders about this discussion via his media unit over the phone.
However, Sajith later requested the parliamentary authorities to allow his media unit to cover this event. The parliamentary authorities informed Sajith that since the media unit of the parliament was covering the event, the opposition leader’s media unit could not be given permission.
Outcome of Discussion
During this discussion, while the representatives of the government party were watching, Sajith pointed out to the Geneva High Commissioner that the government should take immediate steps to repeal the Terrorism Act. Although the government representatives had promised the country during the last election period that this act would be repealed, Sajith pointed out to Türk that it had not been fulfilled so far.
In addition, Sajith expressed his views on the threats targeting the media by the Online Act. In addition, Sajith also drew Turk’s attention to another special issue. That is, he requested Turk to intervene immediately to change the conditions imposed on Sri Lanka by the IMF, as the human rights of the people are being violated in large numbers.
Sajith pointed out that if his government in power, he would definitely discuss with the heads of the IMF and change the conditions that were detrimental to the people. Sajith also pointed out to Turk that the people’s fundamental rights would be severely violated if the Malima government did not pay attention to it even when it had a two-thirds majority.
With this statement by Sajith, it was seen that both the representatives of the government and the representatives of the opposition were horrified. However, Sajith did not make these requests after conducting a special study of the constitutional conditions in this regard. In particular, the South African constitution states that if the people’s sovereignty is affected economically, it is considered a violation of the human rights of the people. Sajith presented the facts to Turk based on this law in the South African constitution. The most remarkable incident that was witnessed there was Turk’s unwavering acceptance of the idea presented by Sajith.
Archuna turns a demon
With Sajith’s statement ending in this way, the discussion led to a very controversial point by none other than Northern MP Archuna Ramanathan. MPs like Rauff Hakeem, Rashad Bathiudeen, Gajendra Ponnambalam, who used to raise their voices regarding the issues of the Tamil and Muslim people in the North and East, were not able to participate in this discussion that day as they were engaged in operations to establish power in the local government institutions in those provinces.
While expressing his views regarding the Tamil people in the North, Archuna said that war crimes had been committed in the North and that the Tamil people had been subjected to a genocide.
When Archuna made controversial comments in presense of Turk, just as he expressed his views in Parliament, the Leader of the House, Mr. Bimal Ratnayake, took action to engage him in an argument. This argument became so serious that at times Archuna was seen using harsh words.Turk silently watched as Bimal and Archuna argued with each other, but it was clearly seen that Turk had noted down certain statements made by Archuna.
Significantly the Geneva High Commissioner himself established that there was a serious division between the government and the opposition MPs due to not heeding to Sajith’s warning given in advance that such an issue could arise.
The way in which the Geneva High Commissioner took some of the serious points mentioned by Archuna into his head was clearly confirmed by the comments made by the Geneva High Commissioner in a staff discussion held after those meetings.
The statement made by Turk there completely contained the facts that Archuna had revealed in Parliament. Accordingly, Turk had also stated that an investigation into those allegations must be conducted. Accordingly, it is a serious situation if the government authorities did not realize later that it was a mistake to bring the government and the opposition together through this speech made by Turk and discuss it with Turk.
The North is on fire
While these discussions were being organized in the South in response to Turk’s visit to Sri Lanka, many events were also organized in the North. One of them was that people who had been affected by the war had organized a peaceful protest against the injustice they had suffered duringTurk’s visit to Trincomalee. They had also taken steps to hold a photo exhibition on human rights violations.
Two major events were witnessed in Jaffna. The first was that the display of huge posters and boards at the University of Jaffna stating that human rights had been violated by the Sri Lnkan government. The second was that a continuous event was organized for several days to commemorate those who died near the Chemmani mass grave. The most serious incident was witnessed at the commemoration ceremony held near the Chemmani mass grave.
The government wanted to show Turk that the people of the North were with the compass as they were with the compass in the last presidential election and the general election. Accordingly, the Northern Cabinet Minister Ramalingam Chandrasekar, along with a group of his friends, had taken steps to attend the commemoration ceremony that had begun near the Chemmani grave and pay tribute to the deceased.
But it was witnessed unexpectedly; the youth gathered there expressed serious opposition to the Fisheries Cabinet Minister. This opposition was so severe that if the security guards had not taken steps to remove the Minister from there with great care, the situation would have escalated to the point of an assault. Minister Ramalingam Chandrasekar left the place without even putting on his pair of shoes.
In addition to the government cabinet minister, another Malama MP representing the North also came to the place later to commemorate the deceased. But he too suffered the same fate as Minister Ramalingam. The expulsion of this Malaima MP, just as the crowd had expelled Minister Ramalingam, was a special incident.
In addition, the most serious signal was given when Sivagnanam, a representative of the strongest party in Jaffna, the Tamil Arasu Katchi Party, arrived at the scene. There, too, the people strongly opposed his arrival and oust him from the scene.
What was expressed by the Tamil people in the North was nothing but the hatred for the allegations that the Tamil leaders in the North had obtained bar licenses as political bribes from the Ranil Wickremesinghe government in the past.
Hero of the North
The Tamil MPs and dignitaries in the North are facing opposition from the general public, who has become the most popular politician in the North? It is none other than Archuna Ramanathan, who got into a heated argument with Bimal in presence of Turk. Although many media outlets in the South painted Archuna as a joker, the situation in the North is completely different. Archuna, who was portrayed as a joker in the South, is now seen by the people of the North as a great hero. As a politician who speaks out for them fearlessly.
A few months ago, a senior journalist from the ‘Mawrata’ newspaper had visited Jaffna and conducted a special investigation into the politics of the North. The only thing that the people of the North said without any hesitation was that Archuna had now become their political hero.
Accordingly, we have to say that if the government is going to take any action regarding Archuna, it should be done very carefully. Especially at this time, when Archuna has become a hero not only among the people of the North, but also among the Tamil diaspora, many people are of the opinion that branding him as a terrorist and marginalizing this issue could push this to a different direction.
On the other hand, a case is already being heard in court challenging Archuna’s MP seat. Accordingly, if Archuna’s MP seat is suddenly abolished, Archuna will go before the people as a hero after Turk’s visit to Sri Lanka. On the other hand, Archuna should not be underestimated by thinking of him as a single MP. Many people believe that not only the Tamil people of the North but also the Tamil diaspora are behind him.
That must be why Archuna boldly declares in Parliament that the Tamil diaspora has given money to his election campaign. That must be why Archuna made a very controversial statement in Parliament that the red-labeled containers released without any inspection contained weapons belonging to Prabhakaran.
This confirms that Archuna is a person who is being guided from somewhere. Archuna has also publicly stated that even if his parliamentary seat is abolished, he will not lose anything and that he will contest the upcoming Provincial Council elections as the Chief Minister of the North. Archuna has also publicly stated that his relative will be contesting the parliamentary seat vacated by him from his party.
If this is the case, there is not much room for that. Because the government has already publicly told the country that it will hold the provincial council elections very soon after the local government elections. Especially during the visit of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Sri Lanka, the government made some promises to Modi in this regard.
However, despite holding the general election and obtaining a two-thirds majority, it is unlikely that the government will take steps to hold the provincial council elections after the government lost a large number of 2.3 million votes in the local government elections held within the past five months. But the government is also unable to break its promise to Modi. Accordingly, it is reported to the ‘Inside Politics’ column that the government is planning to hold the provincial council elections most likely after the conclusion of the Geneva session scheduled to be held next September.
Who is this daughter?
On Father’s Day, a daughter of a character who had been shaking the country for a while suddenly emerged. The uniqueness of this emergence is that the young woman had never spoken a word about her father anywhere before. At least, no one had any idea whether the person who knew the country at all had a daughter. The character who well known was none other than S.P. Thamilselvan,
Although this name is unfamiliar to many people today, for someone who knows the 30-year war of the LTTE, the name is not unfamiliar. This S.P. Thamilselvan, is the leader of the political wing of the LTTE organization. Or the person who stood as the right hand of the Tiger leader Prabhakaran.Thamilselvan, was killed in a Sri Lankan Air Force attack in November 2007, and after the 2009 war victory, there was little talk about him.
However, information about this so-called Thamilselvan, suddenly came to light due to a short video posted by one of his daughters, T. Aleimagal, on her TikTok account. The video, which was posted on the occasion of Father’s Day, showed several photos of Thamilselvan, petting a little girl. Since the video had the words ‘My Dad’ written in the background, it can be understood that this young woman named Aleimagal is Thamilselvan’s, daughter. Accordingly, even though we went to this person’s TikTok account and did a long search, she had never posted a photo of her father, S.P. Thamilselvan, Also, evidence that she lives abroad can be confirmed from the photos on her TikTok account. Accordingly, she has made a photo of her father and published in her social media to public for the first time in 18 years after his death.
Tilvin’s Secrets
Last week, we reported many details about the 10-day long visit to China made by JVP General Secretary Tilvin Silva through in this column.
We said that unofficial information reported that President Anura Kumara Dissanayake was also planning to make an emergency visit to China on the 26th after Tilvin’s visit to China.
We have now learned that Anura’s emergency visit to China has been canceled at the last minute. Although the visit to China will not take place at the moment, it is also reported that the President has decided to consider it at a later date. It is also learned that the message has already been received by the Chinese authorities.
However, Tilvin’s visit to China was not just a sudden one. After Anura’s visit to China, Tilvin left for China to discuss again the aid and relief package promised to Anura by China. During Anura’s visit to China, China promised to build a refinery in Hambantota, build the Kadawatha-Mirigama section of the Central Expressway, write off the compensation due to the delay in construction, and make investments in the port, but China had suspended the relevant relief package due to the fact that Sri Lanka had not allowed Chinese research vessels to enter Sri Lankan waters. China considers this refusal as an attack on their pride. The government says that the relevant amendments have not yet been made.
However, there are currently two views within the government regarding moving forward with China. While the Tilwin and Bimal groups, which are strongly pro-China, are of the opinion that we should move forward with China, the liberal group including Harini is of the opinion that we should move forward with Western countries.
As the President, Anura is in the middle of both these views. While there is such a tug-of-war within the government regarding China, Tilvin has suddenly left for China on a major mission, according to the news we are currently receiving from the Chinese side.
In the discussions held by Tilvin with the strongmen of the Chinese Communist Party, the focus has been on building a direct relationship between Chinese President Xi Jinping and President Anura Kumara Dissanayake. It is understood that there have been lengthy discussions on the tasks to be done and the strategies to be followed. As a start, it is understood that Tilvin has given the green light to work in accordance with the ‘Belt and Road’ or ‘One Belt – One Road’ policy launched by China.
A strong pro-China policy was also followed during the rule of former President Mahinda Rajapaksa, and at that time it was seen that there was strong opposition from the opposition. But it is noteworthy that during Tilvin’s visit to China, it was proposed to revive the Belt and Road or One Belt One Road Chinese policy once again. It is understood that Sri Lanka has agreed to adhere to it as the first step in building the relationship between Jinping and President Anura.
In addition, it is said that discussions have been held here to initiate a number of exchange programs between the Chinese Communist Party and the JVP. In addition to providing special training to JVP members in China, it is also known that it has been proposed to provide special training to government officials through China.
Accordingly, the two sides hope to build some kind of cooperation between the two countries. The ultimate goal is to create a community between the two countries for a common purpose. It is also learned that an agreement has been reached between Tilwin and the Chinese authorities not only to establish close relations between the leaders of the two countries, to establish close relations between the Chinese Communist Party and the JVP, but also to unify the governments of the two countries.
Although President Anura was scheduled to make an emergency visit to China through this agreement, it has been learned that it has now been postponed due to certain reasons. However, it is also said that the President’s visit to China is definitely scheduled to take place in the near future. In addition, an atmosphere has been created by now for JVP MPs to participate in Chinese workshops and conferences in large numbers in the near future
Tax advantage
However, the President had planned to visit China suddenly, but why did it suddenly change? Some parties are saying that since the US government is scheduled to announce the tariff rates imposed on Sri Lanka on the 3rd, it is not appropriate for the President to visit China before that date, so the visit has been postponed.
Many have taken the position that Trump’s attack on Iran, imposing high tariffs on all countries in the world, etc., was part of a campaign to economically destroy China. Therefore, it is also known that the Chinese visit has been postponed, assuming that if the President suddenly turns to China, it will have an adverse effect on American tariffs. However, it has been reported from our sources that Trump’s tariff rates related to Sri Lanka, which are scheduled to be announced next week, will be revised in a way that is beneficial to Sri Lanka.
Green light for the ship
While various agreements have been reached between China and the JVP General Secretary, many are of the opinion that some agreement has also been reached regarding the Chinese research vessels. However, we have not yet received any confirmed news in this regard from any party. In response to the requests received from China, the government has stated that it is still revising the criteria and agreements regarding the entry of the vessels into Sri Lankan waters. It was also said that the announcement of the relevant agreement will be delayed.
In the meantime, a few weeks ago, a request was made to the Ministry of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources through the Sri Lanka Coordination Office of the United Nations to grant permission for a research vessel belonging to them to enter Sri Lankan waters. The vessel is considered to be a research vessel of the same status as the Chinese research vessels. However, as soon as this request was made, the Sri Lankan side informed that permission could not be granted as the agreement containing the criteria for granting permission to research vessels to enter Sri Lankan waters had not yet been prepared. But by then, the ship had already reached Mauritius, and the next port of call was reported to be Sri Lankan waters. By then, Sri Lankan naval experts had also taken steps to board the ship and inspect it. They had informed Sri Lanka that during the period spent in Sri Lankan waters, fish harvests, biodiversity studies and mapping of Sri Lankan waters would be conducted.
However, the Sri Lankan authorities received a very strong response from the United Nations when Sri Lanka informed them that it would not be possible to allow the UN ship to enter Sri Lankan waters. They said that if the ship was not allowed to enter Sri Lankan waters, Sri Lanka would lose the one million dollar aid that it was supposed to receive under the Green Climate Fund program that Sri Lanka signed with the United Nations, and the ship in question was coming under that agreement.
A letter from Bangladesh
Meanwhile, Bangladesh had informed that the UN they would allow this ship to enter their waters if Sri Lanka refuse to allow to enter into Sri Lankan waters.
As the crisis of this ship was getting worse, it was also reported to the government that Bangladesh had sent a letter to the UN. Accordingly, within a few days of sending the letter, a letter from the government stated that the relevant ship could be allowed to enter Sri Lankan waters.
The letter further stated that the relevant ship could enter Sri Lanka for a period of 05 days, and that this period could be allocated from August 15th to 20th.
The government of Sri Lanka has once again had to face a serious problem with the permission of a research ship belonging to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Program to enter Sri Lankan waters.
This is regarding the refusal to allow Chinese research vessels to enter Sri Lankan waters, which the President and Tilvin agreed to during their visit to China. Sri Lanka must allow the UN vessel to enter Sri Lankan waters in accordance with the relevant amended agreement.
The relevant agreement should have been finalized by now. Therefore, the government now has to allow Chinese research vessels to enter Sri Lankan waters according to the relevant criteria. Some also suspect that the government first allowed the UN research vessel to enter Sri Lankan waters in order to get a head start on Chinese research vessels entering Sri Lanka. Many are of the opinion that the ban on Chinese research vessels will most likely be lifted within the next few weeks.
If Sri Lankan waters are opened to Chinese research vessels the news we have suggests that a special relationship will be established between China and Sri Lanka, between Anura and Jinping, and between the JVP and the Chinese Communist Party that will never be broken. If that happens, not only will Chinese aid continue to be received by Sri Lanka, but Sri Lanka will also receive the relief package that China had promised. While it has the potential to make a huge contribution to the future of the government and the Sri Lankan economy, the government is also concerned about whether opening the doors of Sri Lanka to Chinese research vessels will create a number of other problems.
Former bosses stunned
The government is currently busy catching thieves because it is seeing the popularity that was lost to the government in the past regained. Accordingly, in the past few weeks, many former politicians, their relatives and officials have been arrested by the Bribery Commission as well as the Criminal Investigation Department. Investigations are mostly conducted on how the relevant individuals acquired their assets. Information received from the investigation departments indicates that many have failed to disclose how they acquired their assets.
However, after the investigations into the assets of former politicians and officials began, it is also reported to this column that a large number of former strongmen of the UNP, Pohottuwa and the SLFP are now in hiding. It is said that among these groups, there are a large number of people who have purchased lands, houses and luxury apartments worth crores of rupees in Colombo over the years.
Although it was initially said that there would be about 40 people when the investigation began, it is also known that the number has increased to over 300 by now.
In addition to these investigations, another new investigation has also been initiated by the government. This is regarding former politicians who have acquired hundreds of acres of very valuable government lands over the past few years. It has now been revealed that these former politicians have acquired these lands worth crores of rupees from the government on the basis of cultivation at a very low price of Rs. 1,000 per acre.
It has been revealed that some of these lands that have been acquired on an agricultural basis have now been sold at high prices and that no cultivation is being done on them, and it has also been revealed that lands acquired in areas with tourist value have been sold to other people for crores of rupees. Accordingly, a new investigation has been initiated regarding the former politicians who acquired these government lands, and it is also reported that the government is preparing to take legal action against them in the future.
Meanwhile, one of the things we have revealed to the country on numerous occasions from this column, even before the current government came to power, was that a large number of MPs and Ministers had obtained liquor licenses from the Ranil Wickremesinghe government as bribes.
We had revealed that they had been obtained in the names of other individuals, and that even former MPs and Ministers from the SJB, Pohottuwa, SLFP and Tamil Alliance had obtained liquor licenses from the Ranil Wickremesinghe government. Accordingly, it is also known that a special investigation has been initiated regarding the MPs who obtained liquor licenses in the names of other individuals, and the income and expenses of the individuals who obtained the relevant liquor licenses. It is also reported that all matters such as how they earned money, how the dividends of that money have been distributed, etc. are currently being investigated. Accordingly, it is widely believed that the results of these investigations will most likely come out around the time of the next general election, and that good information will be revealed to the country by then.
In addition, an investigation has also been initiated regarding another special incident that is said to have occurred during the tenure of President Ranil Wickremesinghe. It was a trip to London with Ranil’s wife, Mrs. Maithri Wickremesinghe, when Ranil was President. Some who visited Ranil at that time wrote poems and songs in newspapers and on their Facebook pages about this trip, saying that Ranil’s wife is a very simple, clean woman free from corruption. She is an example to all women. She is a woman who is not arrogant even though her husband is the President.
However, allegations are currently being made that Maithri Wickremesinghe has traveled to London with Ranil to attend her graduation ceremony, on public funds for this purpose. A special investigation has also been initiated in this regard.
However, while all the media in the country were reporting on this matter, Ranil Wickremesinghe’s office had issued a special statement to the media on this matter last Friday. It stated as follows.
‘The media has published reports attributed to the police regarding the visit of the 8th Executive President Ranil Wickremesinghe to the University of Wolverhampton in September 2023.
All those allegations are false. Untrue. These false allegations are completely denied and further clarifications will be made in the future according to legal advice.’
Meanwhile, two weeks ago, we made a special disclosure in this column and said that President Anura Kumara Dissanayake was preparing to make a special statement regarding Prime Minister Harini Amarasuriya during the third week of the previous parliament. for some reason, the President did not take steps to make that special statement even though he came to parliament that week.
We have now learned that the President is preparing to make that special statement during the special Parliament Day scheduled to be held next Monday.
